Ex-Arsenal and Tottenham man Adebayor: Moving to Crystal Palace was worst move of my career

Arsenal and Tottenham fans may have mixed memories of former striker Emmanuel Adebayor.

When the former Togo striker broke onto the scene under Arsene Wenger at Arsenal, he looked like a world-beater.

After moving to north London from Monaco in 2006, Adebayor bagged 46 Premier League goals in 104 appearances, before leaving for Manchester City under something of a cloud. Arsenal fans weren’t too keen on the idea of the new-money Blues coming down south and nabbing one of their prized assets.

But he’d make sure that he would be forever hated by Arsenal supporters for the way he behaved when scoring against his former club for City at the Etihad. After watching the ball cross the goal-line, Adebayor infamously ran the length of the pitch before sliding on his knees in front of the travelling Gunners fans and celebrating wildly. In case you forgot:

Following a brief loan spell at Real Madrid, Adebayor resurfaced in the Premier League, at Arsenal’s bitter rivals Tottenham.

During his loan spell at Spurs, Adebayor bagged 17 in 33 Premier League games, and signed permanently in 2012.

After the rocky relationship with Andre Villas-Boas ended following the Portuguese manager’s sacking, Adebayor was brought back into the fold by Tim Sherwood.

Adebayor’s contract was eventually terminated by mutual consent in September 2015 after falling out of favour with Mauricio Pochettino.

Adebayor kept up his decent strike rate at Tottenham

But Adebayor says he enjoyed his time in England. Well, most of it.

Adebayor, 33, told L’Equipe: “I truly experienced some beautiful moments in England, at the heart of the country’s best teams.

“I was happy over there, and my family was as well.

“The only mistake I made was to sign for Crystal Palace in January 2016.

Worst. Move. Ever: Adebayor regrets joining Crystal Palace

“I made the decision to please my advisers.

“They were telling me: ‘Manu, you’ve got to get back playing again!’

“But it is definitely the worst decision I have made in my entire career.”

Store

Football Shirt Collective is the destination for those who can’t get enough of football nostalgia. Whether it’s Tony Yeboah’s howitzer for Leeds or George Weah going coast to coast for AC Milan, we love football memories and sharing the products that celebrate them.